Iztok Kovač is a choreographer and founder of En–Knap. Following the international success of his solo How I Caught a Falcon (1991), he became one of the key figures in the development of Slovenian contemporary dance. He founded En–Knap Group, Slovenia's first permanent contemporary dance ensemble, and serves as artistic director of both En–Knap and the Španski borci Cultural Centre. His works have toured internationally for more than three decades. Additionally, his artistic practice includes six dance films, international pedagogical work, guest choreography and the direction of major national events in Slovenia. During the Covid period, he initiated Stage360, developing dance works in virtual reality.
How I Caught a Falcon is a landmark work in the history of Slovenian contemporary dance. The solo performance, in which Iztok Kovač created a deeply poetic choreography, charged with beauty and a sublime, and a magic relationship between the body, movement, music, lighting and space, has become an emblem of the new time and new production. Created on the eve of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the work introduced a distinctive poetic language at a moment of profound social and political change, and unexpectedly drew the attention of the European dance scene. played an important role in bringing the emerging Slovenian scene into a wider European context. Its success marked a turning point in Kovač’s career and in the development of independent dance production in Slovenia. Following the performance, Kovač founded En–Knap, laying the foundations for an organisation that would become an important force in Slovenian and European contemporary dance.